Some Time Alone
by CainaStarsong
Summary: Magnus and Alec have been left the streets of New York for 6 months. Together. When they get back, Alec must deal with a high-strung Isabelle, a slightly more afraid Jace, a frustrated Clary, and realizing he somewhat likes not being with Magnus 24/7
1. Home

A/N So. Something new. Hate me. I was playing with the Mortal Instruments for a while, and I needed a Malec fic. It starts off with mainly Isabelle and Jace, but don't worry. It transfers.

Disclaimer: Insert the standard disclaimer here.

* * *

Alec had been all over the world with Magnus. But home would be the loft in New York, because that was were Magnus was. That was where his family was. And now, as he pushed a bag through the doorway, he felt content. "It's good to be back," he said to Magnus, who was climbing the steps behind him, looking more subdued than normal due to the fact it'd been nearly 6 months of travel.

Magnus rolled his eyes, but smiled anyways. "I said I was sorry that the trip was drawn out so long, darling. It was originally only two weeks." He set his jade green suitcase inside the door, snapping to make it disappear. A thunk alerted Alec to the fact that it was in the bedroom. Magnus snapped away Alec's black duffel as well.

Alec threw his hands up, laughing quietly. "I never blamed you!" He said, "I said I'd go no matter how long it dragged out. But I did miss Isabelle and Jace. And Clary. It's been a while since I've talked to them." He frowned momentarily, in the action of pulling off his boots.

"The incident with your phone?" Magnus said, laughing as Chairman Meow wound himself through Magnus's legs, one of which was kicking the door closed.

"Does _your _phone work in Kenya?" Alec asked, eyebrow raised, looking over. Magnus cocked an eyebrow at him, and Alec grinned, pulling off his other boot and planting a kiss on Magnus's bright red lips as he head to the kitchen. "It doesn't matter. It's good to be back. Do you want to make some egg's appear?" Alec asked, unhappy with the nearly empty cereal box he'd found in the kitchen. Magnus clapped his hands and Alec started to crack the eggs into a pan. "I suppose I'll go to the Institute after I'm done with breakfast." He mused thoughtfully

"You don't want to stay with me?" Magnus pouted, wrapping his tan arms around Alec, nuzzling the younger man's pale neck. Alec was the perfect height, just a few inches shorter than Magnus, though the hair did tend to add quite a bit of height. "We could, say, head up to the bedroom - " His arm tightened around the other man.

"I was with you non-stop for the past 6 months!" Alec exclaimed, a light blush from spreading over his face. None the less, he didn't shake Magnus off. "I want to see my siblings. I'll be home tonight, I'll be in the bedroom then, alright? You can come if you want."

Magnus thought about it, thought about going back to see Isabelle and Blondie, and Clary too, but then reached for the ringing phone in his back pocket. "Clearly, I've got work to do." He shook the phone in Alec's face, causing the other man to laugh quietly. Keeping one arm around Alec, Magnus hit the TALK button. "Hello? This is Bane."

* * *

Isabelle was astounded to find that she did not know where her brother was. Out of sight, out of mind, and it was scary that maybe it was true. It was more like she didn't worry about Alec anymore, not that he had faded from her memory. After all, Isabelle still remembered Max, every day some little thing made her think of him. But Alec, there was nothing for her to help remember. He'd packed his bag and said good-bye, and she'd lost contact with him since. She supposed she'd felt that she didn't need anything to remember him by, since he was just moving to Magnus's, not somewhere like Australia. She thought she'd still be in contact with him. See him for training. See him while fighting. Just...see him.

Isabelle stopped en route to her room. She couldn't hold it against Alec that he'd left. He was nineteen now, after all. Shadowhunters did that. They didn't stay with their parents, with their family. It hadn't been very long since the battle at Idris, perhaps 7 months, since they'd lost Max, and now she'd lost another brother.

Isabelle had stopped in front of Alec's door. She pulled it open for the first time since he'd left. It was slightly dusty, but he'd only been gone for a few months, really. Er. Seven.

"Jace!" Isabelle called, taking in the neatly made bed, the Sensor that was still on the bedside table. She took in the open and empty dresser drawers, like Alec had been in too much of a hurry to even close them. She glared at the curtains that were open, although when Alec had inhabited the room, they'd always been kept closed. She glanced at the lone painting on the wall, a watercolor of the ocean. She hated the room that was completely robbed of her brother, the room that could have been anyone's.

"Jace!" She yelled, knowing full well that he was the only one here besides her.

"Isabelle?" Jace's voice called, vaguely worried, "What is it?"

Isabelle turned out of Alec's room, the empty room, leaving the door open. "Where's Alec?" She demanded, her voice thick with tears.

Jace looked slightly annoyed. "He's not here, Izzy. Hasn't been for a few months. I realize all the alcohol you've consumed since then has killed all your brain cells, but-" He caught a glance at her face. "Izzy, what's wrong?"

Isabelle let her tears fall, wiped at them furiously. "I can't remember where he is! He moved to Magnus's, then around the world!" She wailed, and Jace looked astounded as he wrapped his arms around her. "It wasn't hard to remember, how hard was it to remember that he wasn't here?"

Jace sighed. "Isabelle," he said gently, "He's in London."

Isabelle ignored this. "But how hard was it to remember where my older brother is? I've lost one already, shouldn't I have prevented it a second time? We haven't heard from him in months!" Isabelle wept into his shirt.

"I know, I know. He's gone. But after a while, I stopped focusing on the 'where', and focused on the 'why.'" Jace said. He'd always thought it been something personal with Alec, something he'd said that had made Alec snap and move out. He'd ignored the 'where' because that didn't matter, but analyzed the 'why' over and over.

Isabelle had done just the opposite. Not worried about Alec, as if he was no longer a pressing issue. Jace had obsessed, Isabelle had forgotten. She was amazed that she had forgotten.

Jace pulled back from Isabelle, and she saw the tear stains damp on his shirt. "I miss him." She muttered pathetically. "I miss being able to open his door and find him, to call out his name and hear him respond, I miss him being _here_."

"I miss him too, Iz, he's my brother, my parabatai, my best friend, my conscious. How the hell do you think I feel?" Jace hadn't gone out fighting as much without Alec. Clary was getting to be a decent fighter, and Isabelle was outstanding, but Jace felt uncomfortable without Alec watching his back. It was if he missed to not having someone who would take the blade for him and then joke about it later. He missed the shield.

Alec had moved in with Magnus when he'd moved out of the Institute, and Magnus had taken him on all his travels. Alec had been to Russia, Indonesia twice, Kenya, Spain, and was currently in London, is Magnus's voicemail was any indication. It's not as if they had stopped speaking. It was more that it got harder and harder to find time for any talking at all. The last time Isabelle had called had been 3 months ago, and he'd never called back.

"I'm calling Magnus," Isabelle said, determinedly. She spun on her heel, relishing Jace's expression.

"Why?" Jace asked, following, "It's just say, 'You've reached Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn. Sadly, I'm out of the country on business, for an undefined amount of time. Call back later. '" He'd called enough in the past 6 months to have memorized the warlock's voicemail. It sounded professional, unlike Magnus completely, as if it was a trick. But in the background, if you listened hard, you could hear the cat meowing, and Alec laughing, saying something about how unlike Magnus it was to be that professional.

"It'll make me feel better." Isabelle said, not sure how her thought process was working. She snatched her phone from her room, dialing a number by heart, already anticipating the voice mail. She'd never had the number to Magnus's personal cell - only his work phone.

"Hello," a voice on the other end drawled, "This is Bane." In the background, Isabelle could hear Alec laughing.

* * *

A/N Prevail! The next chapters are all about Magnus and Alec!


	2. Eggs

A/N Why do I always apologize up here? Because I'm so sorry! I just...have intense writer's block and issues with updates.

Disclaimer: Where's the standard disclaimer?

* * *

"Hello? This is Bane."

Isabelle slammed the phone down on the counter, like she's have done with an old phone she was slamming into the receiver, but this was a cell and it broke into pieces. She was gasping, out of breath, as Jace asked her what happened. She shoved a hand over his mouth, told him to shut up.

"Izzy, what the hell's wrong?" He said, because he was Jace, and didn't do what he was supposed to, ever.

She waved a hand at him. "Nothing. Nothing. Nothing." She straightened up, pulling her hair out of her face, tying it into a sloppy braid. Where the hell where her shoes, she wondered. She had on jeans, and a faded black sweater - it was one of Alec's old ones, because sometimes she needed a comfort shirt, not a shirt that showed her off, and he wouldn't notice one missing - and she grabbed the coat that was hanging over the banister.

"You said nothing three times, that isn't good." Jace observed. Isabelle tried in vain to find her shoes, stomping downstairs, leaving Jace utterly confused as he followed her. "Isabelle?"

"Shut up, Jace." She located one boot. Where was the other? She stood there, one foot bare as she balanced like a flamingo on heels. "I'm going out. I called the wrong number," She wasn't sure why she was lying. She was going to see Alec. And Magnus. And didn't want Jace to know. "And it was a creepy cat lady." She added. "And, the love of your life is here."

Because it was true, Clary could be heard coming up the lift, here for a day of training. Isabelle finally spotted her boot and pulled that on, hopping around as she struggled with the zipper on the side. Jace turned to the lift, a frown on his face. For two reasons.

Isabelle was acting strange and Clary was coming.

Jace did not usually worry too much about Isabelle. She was a big girl who could handle herself. With ease. But she was rather distraught right now, what with the whole Alec being gone deal and her sudden tears, and Jace didn't deal with tears, because neither Isabelle or Clary cried openly. Isabelle he'd never seen cry, and Clary he could often reason with before she really got started, and then the whole thing was over. And even if the multiple girls he'd gotten with cried when he'd left, he'd never stuck around.

Clary coming was a bigger deal. He did not want to explain their family issues right now, because that seemed especially personal and it dealt with Alec and Isabelle as well, and if Isabelle was leaving, he didn't have time to train or talk to Clary right now. Even the training in itself, he didn't like too much.

"Isabelle - " Jace said, reaching out, but she squirmed out of his grasp, into the elevator, pushing Clary into his arms before he could say anything more. She left him there, arms around Clary but ignoring her hurried questions.

* * *

Magnus stared at his cell phone for a few seconds. "That was strange. Even more so than normal." He quirked an eyebrow, but slipped the phone back in his packet anyways. "Either way, I've got messages just _piled_ up about all the people who needed me on that 6 month pleasure cruise." He added his second arm to Alec's body, trying to get in a little extra canoodling time.

Alec sighed. "I can't cook anything," he said, running a hand through his dark hair, "With you hanging onto me like this." His eggs were on their way to being ruined. He liked it alot when Magnus put his arms around him, but he was hungry, after all.

Magnus chuckled, snapping his fingers to make Alec's eggs disappear before they were done, and the pan he was using as well. Two cups of coffee appeared on the neat counter - it was neat because they hardly ever used it - and a plate of perfect eggs. "Better?"

"Magnus!" Alec protested, fighting a smile, "I hate when you do that!" He didn't really hate it - he felt slightly bad, knowing that the eggs had probably come from a elderly man somewhere who had wanted to enjoy his breakfast, but had never gotten the chance, because the eggs had vanished from the waiter's tray, but he could always get more eggs, right?

"Just eat it and get out of here," Magnus said, kissing Alec's nose, "Because you need to go visit your siblings." He drew out 'siblings', making it distorted and unintelligible. "Plus, I've got work." He wrinkled his nose. "I hate coming back from vacation. Though it is nice not to contact Jocelyn immediately after I return. It's one less obligation." He brightened slightly. "That makes me feel so much better!"

"Mmph," Alec agreed, mouth full of eggs. "Zis is dewichus."

"I know," Magnus said, finally letting go of his Shadowhunter, "That's why I don't cook."

Alec snorted - Magnus didn't cook because Magnus didn't feel like cooking - Alec knew he could. But he finished his eggs anyways. "Where's Chairman Meow?" He asked thoughtfully, shoving his feet into his boots.

"I snapped him out of existence," Magnus said, not even looking up. As if he could see Alec's mouth drop, he added, "Relax! He goes where ever he goes when I go on a business trip - wherever the hell he wants. I've had him for 73 years, he can deal."

Alec snapped his mouth shut. "That cat's old," he said, grabbing his coat. How was it possible that the cat was still the size of a mouse?

"I'm older, darling." Magnus said, reaching out an arm. Alec stepped closer, allowing the arm to pull him in for a kiss. "Now get out of here, stop canoodling with me. That's naughty."

"You're the one who want to canoodle!" Alec said, fighting a smile, but pulled away from Magnus. "I'll be home later."

"Good-bye, Alexander," Magnus called as the door swung shut.

* * *

A/N God I am so sorry. So intensely sorry. The next one will be up sooner, I swear...


	3. Crying

A/N Why do I do this to you? I'm so sorry! *cowers in corner*

Disclaimer: Haggling over the price as we speak!

* * *

The air was stale around Magnus's building, and Alec turned left, contemplating the air. He'd always thought it was stale in modern places. It was due to the machines and the smog, and something of the sort, of course. The air in Idris was so clear, so clean, it amazed him most of the time. It just reminded him of how much he considered Idris a home, even if all he loved was here in New York.

Alec had gotten to the subway entrance when Isabelle rushed past him. "Izzy?" He said, reaching for his sister's wrist.

Isabelle gasped, and turned to smack who the hell was grabbing her hand - she didn't recognize her brother. It had, after all, been 6 months. "Alec?" She said, and he dropped her wrist, not understanding at all what was wrong. This was awkward, her barely half-turned to him with her eyes-wide. He suddenly felt horrible - she hadn't even recognized him, it had been so long. Wow.

He'd never meant to stop talking to her, but it got to be a hassle when he was on the other side of the world, and she needed her sleep. She'd babble a bit about Clary, something about Jace, and their parents before telling him she needed sleep, and then he'd lost his phone, and fire messages didn't cut it.

She flung herself at him, and he staggered back a few feet as he caught her, not expecting it. "Isabelle, what's wrong?" He asked as she burst into tears, and everyone on the street began to stare.

"I missed you!" She cried, wrapping her arms around his neck, and his arms went around her.

"I'm sorry I didn't keep in touch..." Alec trailed off, not at all sure what had happened to his strong sister, Isabelle, who never cried, was sobbing into his shoulder right now, and he dimly recognized that he had grown a few more inches and was even more taller than his sister than he was.

"You didn't keep in touch?" Isabelle wailed, "I practically forgot about you!" Her hair tickled Alec's nose as he stroked her inky hair. This role came back to him so easily, even though it'd been seven or eight years since Izzy had needed comforting. But when she was little, this role was constant, him having to scoop her up and dry her tears, when their parents hadn't bothered.

"What?" Alec asked, finally processing what she had said, because it hadn't felt like that to him.

"I was walking by your room, and all of sudden, I realized I couldn't remember where you where! It's like the second you left I forgot about you!" Isabelle was overcome by a fit of coughing and weeping and all of her words turn into wails. "It's not supposed to be like that!"

"Oh, Izzy," Alec sighed, not sure what to do, "I didn't feel that way at all." This only made her cry more and he felt her tears soak through his shirt, pressing his chin to her head. "If anything, I thought'd you'd be mad that I didn't keep calling you." He told her. He didn't say much in this situations, because it's not like Isabelle had ever listened that much - all she really needed was a good cry and someone to comfort her, and Jace wasn't the type.

"But I did!" She said, choking, as he stood there and comforted her. "Mom and Dad never come around since Max died-hic-and it's just me and Jace, and sometimes Clary, and Jace is being an ass-"

"Isn't he always an ass?" I said into her hair, and she laughed a little bit before wiping at her eyes.

"I'm so sorry I forgot you, Alec." She told me.

"Well, what matters is that you remembered me," I said, "And I'm back now, and isn't that what counts?"

* * *

A/N Jesus Christ, I don't know how to apologize. I swear, the next chapter will be up faster. Maybe. I'll TRY!


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